Police are seeking graffiti culprits

GRAFFITI

Photo by Louis Tam

Profanity-laced tags have begun appearing on various surfaces around the Bracebridge Falls over the past few weeks. Police say they are doing everything they can to find whoever is responsible, and are looking into having the community get involved in deterring future acts of vandalism.

BRACEBRIDGE — Police are looking to stop a wave of profanity-laced graffiti that has hit downtown Bracebridge in the past two weeks.
When contacted by this newspaper on March 26, OPP Const. Jim Reading said police have noticed that various walls, signs and structures around the Bracebridge Falls have been tagged with the phrases “FTP” and “F--- the police” in red spray paint. In a release sent to local media outlets later that day, he said the vandalism has also affected local businesses and buildings.
Reading said officers are on the lookout for whoever is responsible.
“We’re out looking actively for people, we’ve got leads and officers have sources in town, and everyone’s actively looking for who’s doing it,” he said. “It’ll just be a matter of time and we’ll have somebody arrested, I’m sure.”
At press time, some of the graffiti around the falls had been painted over.
Reading said officers had a similar graffiti problem in the community a few years ago when the same tags appeared around town. Another graffiti wave had seen the word “eyes” written on a variety of surfaces.
“It was just a matter of time and we caught up with the person and they were charged, and it stopped,” he said of the “eyes” tagger.
Reading said police are also looking into implementing a “graffiti eradication strategy,” which will involve community members and youth. He said the strategy could involve having community members cover the graffiti with beautification projects like murals or artwork, which can serve as an active deterrent against future acts of vandalism.
“People take a little more personal interest and pride in their community because they’re the ones who are decorating it,” he said.
Reading asks anyone who has had their property spray-painted or anyone with information on the graffiti to call police at 1-888-310-1122, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.